Zero-separating invariants for finite groups

Abstract

We fix a field k of characteristic p. For a finite group G denote by δ(G) and σ(G) respectively the minimal number d, such that for every finite dimensional representation V of G over k and every v∈VG∖{0} or v∈V∖{0} respectively, there exists a homogeneous invariant f∈k[V]G of positive degree at most d such that f(v)≠0. Let P be a Sylow-p-subgroup of G (which we take to be trivial if the group order is not divisible by p). We show that δ(G)=|P|. If NG(P)/P is cyclic, we show σ(G)≥|NG(P)|. If G is p-nilpotent and P is not normal in G, we show σ(G)≤|G|l, where l is the smallest prime divisor of |G|. These results extend known results in the non-modular case to the modular case.